ALTOONA, Pa. — It took less than two hours on the night of May 7 for the Altoona Curve, the Pirates’ Double-A affiliate, to bumble through a 2-0 loss on their home field against the Bowie Baysox. It was a lethargic effort by the Curve, who made more errors (three) than they got hits (one).

After the game, Altoona manager Michael Ryan slammed the heavy clubhouse door and looked around the room. Many of the players were joking around or chatting on their cell phones. Disappointed by the loss and dismayed by their players’ reaction, Ryan steeled his eyes and began to shout.

“It was over in about 20 seconds,” Ryan said. “It’s something I don’t do often. But, for it to get to that point … those things shouldn’t have happened.”

Waiting in the hallway outside the clubhouse, reporter Cory Giger of the Altoona Mirror heard Ryan’s ruckus. Giger later wrote that all he could make out from the tirade were “some expletives and repeated...